Plenty at stake as Redblacks and Ticats begin first-place showdown

While it’s not “do or die” and it’s physically impossible to “give 110%” – the Ottawa Redblacks aren’t getting wrapped up in any horrible sports cliches – they know what’s at stake when they host the Hamilton Tiger-Cats Friday night.

A win over the Ticats Friday would mean the Redblacks have to win just one of their remaining two games – a return match in Hamilton next week or against Toronto during the final week of the CFL regular season – to clinch first place in the East. Both Ottawa and Hamilton are at 8-7.

Friday, it’ll be about pride and passion and a chance to take an easier route to the Grey Cup. Finishing first would be huge. It would give the Redblacks a bye into the division championship, not having to host a crossover team from the West in the semifinal. Last year, Ottawa was knocked out in the semifinal by Saskatchewan 31-20.

“It’s huge (to finish first) with the way it’s structured,” said Redblacks coach Rick Campbell on Thursday. “If you finish in first, you get one home game to get to go to the Grey Cup. You want to get into the playoffs and go from there, but first place has big value.”

“It’s a game of emotions, you have to keep those emotions in check,” said Redblacks defensive back Rico Murray. “The adrenaline’s going to be pumping, with it being a division rivalry game and with first place on the line.”

“They’re a good team, we feel like we have a very good team as well,” said Ticats linebacker Simoni Lawrence. “It’s just a race for first place.”

Is it time for desperate football with so much on the line?

“I never understood in football why somebody would try harder one week and not the previous week,” said Campbell. “I never got why that would be the mentality.”

It’s not like the Redblacks have a lot of momentum coming in. They lost 40-32 in overtime to Winnipeg here, then 34-16 in Edmonton. Those stumbles allowed the Ticats, who have beaten B.C. 40-10 and Toronto 34-20 (with a bye week in between) to catch up.

“We’ve had a couple of rough games, it’s about getting back to basics, play ball how we were playing,” said Redblacks defensive end A.C. Leonard.

Earlier this season, Lewis Ward’s toe beat the Ticats 21-15. The Redblacks kicker accounted for all of his team’s points with seven field goals. On that day, the Redblacks limited the damage from a high-flying offence led by quarterback Jeremiah Masoli.

“It was not our best game and I don’t think it was Ottawa’s best game either,” said Ticats coach June Jones. “This will be one of those games that will go right down to the end, as a lot of them do. Ottawa’s playing for a lot and we’re playing for a lot.”

The Redblacks will look to make Masoli uncomfortable – they have to minimize the damage he does when he bounces around and extends plays. With the return of running back Alex Green, Masoli has another big-time weapon helping out. Then there are receivers Brandon Banks – they call him Speedy for a reason – and Luke Tasker, son of long-time NFLer Steve Tasker.

“You want to keep the quarterback in the pocket, you want to be disruptive, try and get him off his spot, get him off his rhythm and comfort,” said Redblacks defensive co-ordinator Noel Thorpe. “They’ve got a good receiving corps, from X to Z receiver. They’ve got smaller, shiftier receivers who can find open spaces, hit their zone windows and have the ability to get open in man (to-man coverage).”

The Redblacks will need long stretches of goodness from their Trevor Harris-led offence. Last week, Harris threw for 227 yards in the first half, but just 64 of that came in the second half when the offence struggled to stay on the field and the defence couldn’t stay off.

For the Ticats, the 2018 season is a big bounceback from a year ago when they started the season 0-8, then with Jones taking over for Kent Austin as head coach, they finished 6-4, but missed the playoffs.

“We would much rather be in this position rather than a position Montreal or Toronto (both out of the playoff picture) is in – where they’re playing for honour and for pride right now, while we still have an opportunity to go to the Grey Cup and get it. Last year, that was probably one of the weirdest, funnest, crappiest feelings ever. You see yourself pulling it together, but you’re just playing for each other. It definitely helped us understand where we wanted to be.”

IN AND OUT

There are several changes to the Redblacks’ lineup for Friday. Most significantly, Ottawa has decided to go with a second American offensive lineman. Josue Matias will line up at right tackle in place of Jason Lauzon-Seguin. Sherrod Baltimore is at cornerback in place of injured Randall Evans. Mike Wakefield replaces George Uko at defensive tackle. Also in are defensive linemen Ettore Lattanzio, Jonathan Newsome and receiver Jacob Scarfone. Out are injured linebacker Avery Williams, receiver Dominique Rhymes, fullback Anthony Gosselin and defensive lineman Blaine Woodson. Speaking about Matias, Campbell said: “He’s a guy we’ve liked all along. It’s just a matter of fitting him in ratio wise, we’re able to do it this week. He’s a prototypical offensive tackle in that he’s tall, rangy with long arms, he’s athletic and he can play in space – that’s necessary in this league with the athletic defensive ends you face.” Asked about Cioffi playing safety (with Antoine Pruneau considered week-to-week with an injury), Campbell said: “He played there last week until a guy got hurt. It’s a natural position for him.” Are some of the injured players ready to go and being held back? Apparently not. “Anybody that’s medically cleared, we would play them,” said Campbell. “There’s no holding anyone back. Guys are working hard to rehab. We’ll see some of those guys back.”

THE END AROUND

In just six games, running back Alex Green, a former NFL third-round draft pick (2011, Green Bay Packers) has 90 carries for 467 yards and seven touchdowns for the Ticats. Said Campbell: “Since his days back in Hawaii, I’ve thought he’s a good running back.” … There are fewer than 1,000 tickets left for Friday’s game … Corey Tindal was one of four CFL players fined Thursday. The Redblacks defensive back was fined for a pair of high hits on Edmonton quarterback Mike Reilly. Hamilton’s Richard Leonard was fined for an inappropriate gesture, Edmonton’s Duke Williams was fined for a delivering a blow to the head of Ottawa’s Leonard and Calgary punter Rob Maver was fined for a “tourist hit.”

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